Education
- Ordained (ELCA)
- Th.D. (Erlangen/Nürnberg University)
- B.D. (Luther Theological Seminary)
Biography
Michael Rogness joined the Luther Seminary faculty in 1985 as an associate professor and was named professor of homiletics in 1993. He was a staff member of the Institute for Ecumenical Research of the Lutheran World Federation in Strassbourg, France (1967-1970).
Ordained in 1964, Rogness was pastor of St. John’s Lutheran Church in Howard Lake, Minn. (1964-67), and First Lutheran Church, Duluth, Minn. (1970-85). He was active in a variety of ALC boards and committees while serving congregations.
He received the B.A. degree from Augustana College, Sioux Falls, S.D., in 1956, and the B.D. degree from Luther Seminary in 1960. He earned the Dr. Theol. degree in Reformation history from Erlangen/Nürnberg University in Germany in 1963 after beginning his study there as a Fulbright Scholar.
His books include: Philip Melanchthon, Reformer (1969); The Church Nobody Knows: The Shape of the Future Church (1971); Follow Me (a junior high Sunday school book, 1977); Lutheran Doctrine (a confirmation text in the Affirm Series, 1984); The Hand that Holds Me: How God’s Grace Touches Our Lives (1984); Hope in a Threatening World (a senior high Sunday School book, 1991); and Preaching to a TV Generation: The Sermon in the Electronic Age(1995).
Featured Work
Lord, Help My Unbelief: Experiencing God Through Faith
Wipf & Stock (January 2009)
The secular, scientific world challenges faith in many ways. Many people have left the Christian church in disappointment. Yet in the midst of this complicated world, many people feel a deep hunger for spiritual depth and experience. Where does faith come from? How does a person “get” faith? How can doubts be surmounted? How does a person experience the presence of God in daily life? After countless conversations with persons searching for faith, the author summarizes the questions people have about faith and the church. Faith is part of everyday life and not an opposite of science. He proposes ways to experience the living presence of God in their lives. Faith is not simply believing in creeds. It is a trust, which results in vibrant living.